Engagement emerges out of having a purpose and a sense of empowered commitment. True engagement involves our entire being. Action, feeling, and judgment all come together when we are engaged in the world. Some people feel this as a calling or a virtue, acting from a foundation of values, morals, or principles. When we are actively pursuing our purpose, we become enlivened and energized. Engaging the world with purpose helps us to Flourish.

Topics in the document below:
Engagement as an Expression of Human Spirit
Engagement Requires Passion
Engagement Generates Well-Being

Engagement as an Expression of Human Spirit
Our essence as human beings comes to the fore when we are engaged in the world: be it the world of ideas or things, the world of esthetics or ecstasies. When we are engaged in the world we feel empowered, effective, and enlivened. The American philosopher John Dewey felt that engagement in the world defines our humanness. This empowerment has been described as stemming from our life force. The ninetieth-century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer felt that when we are acting with a purpose, we are experiencing a life force he called Will. Hannah Arendt, in The Life of the Mind, sees our sense of empowerment, or will, as arising through the events that happen when we embrace the present as a moment of opportunity for action—action that occurs between the future and the past. Full awareness in the present connects the past with the future, and engagement is a feeling of purposeful action in that connected present.

Our future is determined by the actions we take in the present. These actions in the present are profoundly shaped by our view of the future, a view determined by our beliefs, values, and history. Our actions in the present reveal our identity, or to paraphrase Schopenhauer, our acts in the world show us our essential nature. The nature of our engagement in the world is the distillation of our past and our views of the future. When we are able to truly engage in life, we can move beyond the limits of past constriction into hope and purposeful action. An appreciation for our Human Sprit is at the source of realizing our potential for true engagement.

Engagement Requires Passion
Action is based in emotions. When we are able to utilize our emotions, tying them to our beliefs and purpose, we can become engaged in the world, feeling a sense of identity and Flourishing. Engagement is moving from idea into action in the world.

The connection between thought and action has challenged thinkers for millennia. David Hume struggled with understanding this relationship and concluded that only the passions could evoke action in the world. Without emotion there is no motivation and no action. Contemporary neuropsychological research strongly suggests that the integration of emotion and actionable beliefs are the foundation of engagement in the world. Motivation is what moves us from belief into action, and emotion is the fuel that powers motivation, resulting in action and engagement in the world.

Emotions influence and shape both simple and complex behaviors. For example, at the level of sensations, feelings of hunger evoke food-seeking behavior and physical pain will trigger avoidance-behavior. At the emotional level, longing can lead to action to seeking gratification. Feelings of disgust or distain can illicit strategies for avoiding disdainful situations. Feeling betrayed can illicit actions aimed at revenge or retribution. Thoughts and feelings of compassion for the suffering of others can evoke actions of benevolence or self-sacrifice.

Compassion, benevolence, revenge, and forgiveness are complex moral emotions tied to strong moral beliefs. These moral emotions can compel us to action further tied to our moral convictions. Moral psychology explores how moral judgment is experienced as a call for action in the world. This call to action is fueled by the deep interconnection between moral judgment and moral emotions. Moral emotions combine with our beliefs to create a powerful force for action in the world. For example, faith in a greater good can fuel action in the face of grave threat or danger. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran minister who was executed by the Nazis for plotting to assassinate Adolph Hitler. For Dietrich Bonhoeffer, actions in the world required having their foundations in a hope for a positive future, not merely a heavenly reward. This commitment to the future is a powerful force, shaping ethical behavior, and a keystone in the ethical theology of Bonhoeffer seeking to make the world more compassionate.

Grasping the complex relationships between thoughts, feelings, and actions may help us understand how to better actualize our full potential. Through such an understanding we may grow capable of better managing the mental processes of how we make choices in the world. With Moral Intelligence, we can learn to use our values to focus our purpose and to arbitrate between our diverse and disparate motivations.

Engagement Generates Well-Being
Research in positive psychology shows that engagement is the most important ingredient to well-being. Flourishing requires more than having positive feelings. There is a need for meaningful engagement and accomplishment in the world. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi sees our vital engagement in life as arising when Flow occurs during a meaningful and purposeful pursuit.

One psychological mechanism through which engagement enhances well-being is applied by increasing our sense of self efficacy. Self-efficacy is defined by how we feel about our ability to be proactive in the world and it is tied directly to our ability to maintain a positive mood. Effective purposeful action in the world enhances our sense of self-efficacy. When we are engaged in the world and experience making the positive changes we desire, we gain a sense of personal empowerment. Such a mind-set facilitates the development of an increased feeling of purpose in our life.